California 81, Portland 61
BERKELEY, Calif. -- Jamal Boykin scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, both career highs, lifting Cal to an 81-61 victory over Portland in the championship game of the Golden Bear Classic on Sunday.
The title was Cal's 11th in the tournament's 16-year history.
Cal (11-2) used balanced scoring to beat the Pilots. Theo Robertson and tournament MVP Jerome Randle each scored 16. Patrick Christopher added 13 points. Robertson and Boykin made the all-tournament team.
T.J. Campbell and Luke Sikma led Portland (7-6) with 10 points apiece and were named to the all-tournament team.
Cal rode Randle's fast start to a 42-32 halftime lead. He scored 14 points in the half, making 4 of 5 field goals, 3 of 4 freethrows and all three of his 3-point shots.
Randle came into the game hitting 55.8 percent of his 3-point shots and was 3 for 5 for the game.
Portland guard Nik Raivio, who entered the game averaging a team-best 16.1 points per game, didn't take a shot in the first half until less than 30 seconds remained. He drained a 3-point shot for his only points of the half and finished with 6 points.
The game was barely a minute old when Randle drilled his first 3-point shot, this one from the left wing. Then with 16:55 left in the half, Randle drained a rainbow 3-point shot from the top of the key that ignited a 13-0 Cal run.
When Boykin capped the run with a spinning, baseline drive for a lay-in, Cal owned a 17-7 lead with 13:51 still left in the opening half.
Portland countered with its own 9-1 run, but Cal's Harper Kamp made a three-point play. Then Randle scored six quick points, three freethrows and another long-range laser from well beyond the top of the key to put Cal ahead 27-17.
Portland cut Cal's lead to 49-41 with 15:12 left to play on Ethan Niedermeyer's baseline jumper, but that's as close at the Pilots got. Christopher answered with a three-point play then Robertson scored on a fastbreak dunk, extending Cal's lead to 54-41.
Boykin shot 6 of 8 from the field and made 7 of 10 from the freethrow line.
Earlier in the season, he scored 18 points against Texas-Pan American, tying his career high. His previous career high for rebounds was 10, which he grabbed last season against Long Beach State.
Cal, which opens Pac-10 play Jan. 2 at home against Arizona, improved to 9-0 at home under new coach Mike Montgomery. Sunday's win came against Pilots coach Eric Reveno, who played for and coached under Montgomery at Stanford.
Game Information
2022-23 West Coast Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Gonzaga | 14-2 | - | 31-6 |
Saint Mary's | 14-2 | - | 27-8 |
Santa Clara | 11-5 | 3 | 23-10 |
Loyola Marymount | 9-7 | 5 | 19-12 |
San Francisco | 7-9 | 7 | 20-14 |
BYU | 7-9 | 7 | 19-15 |
Pacific | 7-9 | 7 | 15-18 |
Portland | 5-11 | 9 | 14-19 |
San Diego | 4-12 | 10 | 11-20 |
Pepperdine | 2-14 | 12 | 9-22 |
2022-23 Pac-12 Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
UCLA | 18-2 | - | 31-6 |
Arizona | 14-6 | 4 | 28-7 |
USC | 14-6 | 4 | 22-11 |
Oregon | 12-8 | 6 | 21-15 |
Arizona State | 11-9 | 7 | 23-13 |
Washington State | 11-9 | 7 | 17-17 |
Utah | 10-10 | 8 | 17-15 |
Colorado | 8-12 | 10 | 18-17 |
Washington | 8-12 | 10 | 16-16 |
Stanford | 7-13 | 11 | 14-19 |
Oregon State | 5-15 | 13 | 11-21 |
California | 2-18 | 16 | 3-29 |